Pune: Amid dramatic scenes and vociferous demonstrations by the FTII students, TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan today took charge as Chairman of the premiere institute here, even as police detained nearly 40 protesters who were calling him a “political appointee”.

The FTII administration said Chauhan had officially taken over as chairman of the institute.

Earlier, police rounded up about 40 student protesters using force as they staged a demonstration, beating drums and displaying placards with slogans of “Gajendra Chauhan go back”. The controversial appointee at that point was confined to his hotel room in the vicinity of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

When asked about the continuing students’ protest to his appointment, Chauhan, before reaching the campus, said, “We have come to do a job. We have an agenda and we will do our job.”

The FTII Students Association (FSA) members, who had earlier called-off their 139-day strike last year opposing Chauhan’s appointment alleging that he lacked stature to head the institute, gathered early in the morning at the main gate of the FTII, ignoring a warning issued yesterday by police to maintain peace at the time of Chauhan’s entry on the campus.

A scuffle ensued between police and the protesters as police used force to put them in vans and detain them to clear the gate before Chauhan left for FTII to take charge.

A woman student of the FTII, Shimi told PTI, “We were protesting peacefully to register our dissent because political appointees are taking charge as members of the FTII Society. We got beaten up without provocation and taken to police station. Our protest and resistance will continue.”

However, Pune’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Tushar Joshi, who was on the spot, said, “We had asked the students to demonstrate peacefully, but we had to use force because they wanted to block the way to the institute and therefore we had to detain them. We used minimum force.”

The students continued to raise anti-Chauhan slogans even as his car entered the FTII premises.

Other controversial members of the FTII society with alleged BJP affiliation — Rahul Solapurkar, Angha Ghaisas, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak — also attended the first meeting convened by Chauhan as the chairman.

Meanwhile, the FSA said that though they had withdrawn their prolonged strike on October 28 despite lack of response from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to their demand for removal of Chauhan, the students were determined to carry on their resistance to his political appointment in a peaceful manner.

Pune: FTII students who went on strike on June 12 against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman returned to their classes on Wednesday but said protests against the BJP member will go on.

The Film and Television Institute of India students said they will continue to protest in a “peaceful and democratic manner” against Chauhan, who they say is not fit to head the country’s premier film institute.

Ranjit Nair, spokesperson for the Students Association, told IANS that the strike was over.

“We have come to realize, after our long-stretched negotiations with the government, that the government is a bully,” a miffed Nair said.

He said the students will now invite people from all over the country who face similar problems.

“The strike will escalate now… It’s time to register our protest all over again and take it to different heights,” Nair said.

He said filmmakers and academics should come forward and take the protests forward in Mumbai.

The students held multiple meetings with officials of the information and broadcasting ministry but there was no end to the stalemate.

The government refused to buckle over Chauhan, forcing the student community to blink.

Chauhan congratulated the students for ending the strike, and told IANS over telephone that it was time for them to return to their classes.

The decision to end the strike followed the government’s “incongruous approach” towards the students’ cause, said another student leader, Reema Kaur.

“The 139 days of strike have not only made us stronger but more aware of the state that we today live in,” said Kaur, a final year student of editing and a part of the core committee of the Students Association that spearheaded the strike.

“We voiced ourselves loud and clear but it is the government’s adamant stand and incongruous approach towards our valid demands that has made us completely lose faith,” Kaur told IANS.

“Looking at the ministry’s unrelenting approach and the amount of our valuable time spent, we have decided to end the strike and resume classes.

“However, our voices will not shut, but grow louder. The protests shall continue democratically and in the peaceful manner as they have,” Kaur added.

Bengaluru: National Award-winning film-maker Girish Kasaravalli today hit out at BJP MP and actor Paresh Rawal for his jibe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi inconnection with the row over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the FTII chairman.

Responding sharply to Rawal’s remark whether the striking students of the premier Pune institute were seeing an “actor” in Gandhi if Chauhan was, for them, a “political worker”, the Kannada director told PTI, “That is a stupid argument… If he (Rawal) says it is wrong, then that person does not understand democracy at all.”

Kasaravalli said that the students protesting against Chauhan’s appointment have not accepted Gandhi as their chairperson, but were seeking his help to take the issue to Parliament.

“They are not accepting Gandhi as chairperson. They areseeking his help and support; in a democracy, you go to MPs for support. What’s wrong in that,” he said.

In a dig at the Congress leader for “politicising” the FTII issue, Rawal had said, “I just want to ask the students at FTII that if they are seeing a political worker in Gajendra Chauhan, then are they seeing an actor in Rahul Gandhi?”

Kasaravalli, meanwhile, said that in case the protesters were to accept Gandhi as their chairperson, then he would be the first to raise his voice against such a development.

“If they accept Gandhi as the chairperson, I will be the first person not to accept that,” he said.

Asked if he would accept actor-turned-BJP leaders Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha as the FTII chairperson, Kasaravalli said, “We are demanding a committee to be formed to find a replacement. That is left to the committee. How can I say?”

As to whether Nana Patekar, for him, could be a choice for the said post, he averred, “I know Nana Patekar as an actor. I do not know about his film-making abilities. For me, the FTII chairperson should be a complete film-maker.”

Kasaravalli further said that the post should not be given to a member of a particular political party as that would not the right approach.

“UR Ananthamurthy and Mrinal Sen were appointed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and previous UPA governments, respectively, knowing full well that they were critics of BJP and Congress,” he added.

Supporting the cause of the protesters, Kasaravalli sought the resignation of Chauhan saying he is an “ill-informed” film personality, even if a good actor.

“Chauhan should be replaced or resign himself. He is ill-informed. He is not the right choice. When you have legendary film personalities, why bring the young man. He is not a senior. He is not a seasoned man,” Kasaravalli said.

Pune: Rahul Gandhi’s pep-talk to protesting students of the Film and Television Institute of India or FTII today segued into a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP.

“The nature of the discussion is – you agree with us then fine…if not, we will smash you. To shut people up they call you anti-national, anti-Hindu,” he told the students, who have been on strike for nearly two months over the appointment of TV actor Gajendra Singh as their chairman.

In the open session that was televised, the Congress vice president said that the FTII protest was a part of the “real fight,” which was for what the real idea of India is.

“Only the PM decides in the BJP, only one man has power. If the PM wants somebody, the BJP can’t remove them,” Mr Gandhi said.

Also referring to the BJP’s ideological mentor RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he commented on what he called a “fundamental difference in your thinking and the RSS’ thinking.”

Dressed casually in a tee-shirt and jeans, the 44-year-old took questions and also asked many of them.

“This will make a really nice movie – how the entire might of the Indian government was trying to push 250 students aside,” he remarked to a hall-full of film students.

The students have boycotted classes for weeks and refused to return unless the central government cancels the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, who is seen as close to the ruling BJP. Several alumni and film personalities say Mr Chauhan’s stature fall far short of the qualities needed for the top post.

“This is not just about FTII. It is happening in a lot of higher education and cultural institutions,” one student told Mr Gandhi, who nodded in agreement.

“The real question is how strongly you are willing to fight this issue. I am ready to fight with you,” replied the Congress leader.

The BJP has accused the Congress of trying to whip up politics over the film institute protests. “If students see Gajendra Chauhan as a politician, then is Rahul a filmmaker?” scoffed actor-politician Paresh Rawal.

Pune: The FTII students today vowed to continue their protest against the appointment of television actor Gajendra Chauhan as the new chairman of its governing council by boycotting classes and shutting down administrative offices on the campus.

About 150 students pursuing various courses at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) went on a flash strike yesterday.

Asserting that they would continue their protest till the demand is met, the students body alleged that it was purely out of consideration of his affiliation with BJP that Chauhan was chosen for the key post.

“A person who has an official affiliation with the ruling BJP and who lacks the vision and stature of the past chairpersons in film-making, has put a question mark on the process of selection for the post earlier held by eminent people like Girish Karnad, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalkrishnan,” Harikrishnan Nachimuthu, who heads the FTII students’ association, told PTI.

Chauhan, who played the role of ‘Yudhishthira’ in television serial “Mahabharata”, has been a member of the BJP over two decades, the student leaders said.

At the gate of FTII, a billboard was put up by the protesting students asking “Gajendra resign and leave”.

FTII director D Narayanan told PTI that the institute authorities have opened the channels for dialogue with the students.

“We are having a dialogue with the students to find a way out amicably”.

A final year student pursuing course in film direction said Chauhan lacked the “experience and stature and quality” of his predecessors to merit his new posting, which is “politically coloured”.

Meanwhile, the students’ association has decided to send their representation on the issue objecting to Chauhan’s appointment to Information & Broadcasting ministry.

“We will re-look the current protest only after getting a positive response to our demand by the authorities,” Nachiputhu said.